Motor-vehicle.



C. IVI. MANLY.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 4. IsII.

1,179,736. Patented Apr. 18,1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Fig. 2

Attest: Inventor: M. ufm,4 44/ m C. M. MANLY.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 4| 1911.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

:il .IIIII A ttest: 1 l Inventor:

La/52mm@ Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

C. M'. MANLY.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 4. I9II.

1,179,736. Patented Apr. 18,1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

HIE-.II

Inventor:

Attest:

dna/9 C. M. MANLY.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED FERMI, 1911. 1,179,736 Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

" 5 vSHEETS-similar 5.

Q5 N. N ,EP L.

U L II CHARLES M. MANLY, F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

MOTORFVEHICLE.

To all lwhom t may concern:

Beit known that I, CHARLES M. MANLY,

a citizen of the United States, residing at' No. 113 .Montague street, Brooklyn, in the 'county of Kings and State of New York,

. have invented a new and useful Motor-Veprovide a vehicle with driving mechanism scribed and more and controlling means therefor of such character that the vehicle may bev guided by changing the relative speeds of the driving wheels on opposite sides of Vthe vehicle and the use of theusual steering gear avoided.-

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved caster or trailing Wheelfor a vehicle of theclass described adapted to permit the direction of movement of the vehicle to be reversed without deflecting the vehicle from its path. ,g

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter departicularly .pointed out in the claims.

' In the drawings which illustrate lone form in which my invention may -be carried out; Figure l'is a plan view vof the working parts ofthe machine; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the sameJ with one drivev wheel and its cooperating parts' cut'awayyFig. 3 is a`- rear elevation with parts cut away to sh'owm'or'e clearly the 'driving mechanism; Fig4 is a i i topy planv-iew' of the steering' valve detail;

Fig. -5His a side "elevationofthe'same with parts cutaway; Fig. v6' is I`a section of vthe sameon thelines a-a,`F-ig'. 5'; Figs. 7 8 are a'side elevation andvertical'sectioh respectively of the castervwhe el,"andFigs. 9,

10f and L171 I arel detail views lof Aa' modification Referring -to the' drawings *wherein* i the l. i same. reference fnumerals indicate thez same orco'rresponding partsinalll'the figures', 1" is themain /fr'afme'of' the motor vehiclief,l 2

andf3` are driving wheelsfjouraledfon the dead axle 4," and 5 is a-n'engine Vof'anyfs'uit- "rml if Specification of Letters Patent. Application led February 4, 1911. Serial No. 606,618. RE S Patented A. pr. 18, 1916.

. ple cylinder hydraulic pump 7 with its con- UED trolling mechanism casing 6; the crank shaft 8 of said ,pump being directly connected by a suitable joint 9 to thecrank shaft 10 of the engine. This pump 7, is of the general type shown in my U. SQLetters Patent No. 801097 and of the special type fully described in my application Serial No. 606,618 dated Februaryl 4, 1911, and comprises a number of cylinders with pistons operating the-rein, the strokes of which are varied by varying the eccentricity of the common crank pin, said varying of the stroke of the crank pin'vbeing accomplished by any suitable means, controlled in any convenient manner, such as by handle 11 of rod 12, and` lever 13, which is connected to said stroke varying means. As has been explained in the patent and application above referred to, the stroke 'of the common crank pinl of the pump may be varied from a. maximum on one side of Zero, through zero, to a maximum on the other side, in which latter case the direction of liow of fluid is reversed, while when the pump stroke is at zero, no fluid is circulated in'either direction. VEach cylinder of a multiple cylinder pump of the type referred to isindividually a pump having two passages'which constitute, respectively, asuction and a pressure passage ac'- cording to the direction of flow` ofthe fluid las controlled by thestroke varying means. .Heretofore ytheI corresponding passages of all the cylinders )have been connected to-y gether to form a common"`suction passage and a common pressure.l passage `for theyenf.

tirepump,"which,/Whenjthe pump is used'` to drive a'motor. or motors, form the low pressure side and lhi gh pressurev side respectively,

of il single 'liuid .circuit. Ini'therpresent u case, howevenithe'` passages yof the siX 'indi vidu'al cylinders, 21, 22,v 23, 24, 25 and 26 are,y connected upfin groups, herevshown for distinct suction passages. order `to rev ducev the fluctuationvof velocity offlow.l of the Afluid in: theY separatepassages as much ,as

possible, leachgr'ou'p comprises .each altery.

nate cylinder, butsince all the cylinders have a common crankV pim-'any variation inthev volume of fluid circulated by anyone cyllnder simultaneouslyoccurs in all of the cylinders. y ,y y l Inthe present instance the pump 7 is shown with the cylinders21, 23 and. 25 co-nnectedthrough their respective valve chambers 21, 23,'and25 `to the outer and 'inner manifolds 27 and 29 respectively, thus forming rwith the motor driven thereby, when the steering valve, hereinafter-described, is in4 its normalposition oneseparate and distinct fluid circuit, while cylinders 22, 24' and 26,

through their respective\valve chambers 22",

, 24 and 26 are connected to the outer and inner manifolds, 28 and 30 respectively, thus formingjthe second circuit.

yThe manifold v27'` is connected by its pipe 75 to the upper portion' of the left hand chamber 31 of the steering valvelOO, while" the manifold 29 is connected by its pipe 77 to the lower portion of the same chamber'. Similarly manifolds 28 and 30 are connected by the pipes 76 and 78 respectively to the upper and lower portions respectively of the right hand chamber -32 of the steeringvvalve I100. Referring to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, it is seen that the said steering valve 100 is composed of two integral chambers 31 and'.32, 4having upperand lower by-pass ports 40 and` 42 respectively connecting the said chambers. The valve plug 33 which operates within'. said chamber' 31 is formed with a solid circular bottom three lobes 54, 55

and 56 extending up'therefrom, a. solid circular top, and. a circular plate 35 in the middle thereof, ldividing the said valve lug into two simi-lar valve elements, one a ove the other, made in one piece and formed integrally with a gear 37 on the -upper end. The valve plug 34 for chamber 32 is constructed similarly with a gear 38 on the upper end thereof, but with only two ver-l tical lobes 57 and 58. 'From this steering valve 100 the 'pipes 27 and 29', y2.8 and 30 lead the fluid' to. andfrom motors 15 and 14 respectively. The said pipes 27', 29 and 28 are connected vto the valve 100 thro-ugh ports 39, 41, 44 respectively and the pipe 30k 1s connected through av port not'shown but being inthe lower half `of'thejchamber-32 directly under port 44, a section on the line the section on line (1L-4a, shown in Fig. 6.

` The gears l37 and 38 on the valve'plugs ,33 and 34 respectively intermesh, and the lobes of the said valve Plugs are so positioned that with the .parts in the lpositions shown in the figures, lobes 56 and 57 both close the by-pass ports 40 and 42,y While,v

lobes 54, 55 and 58 are clear of the ports 39, 41 and 44 and the other onenot shown.

' A clockwise' turning of handle 36 rigidly fastened to valve plug 33 producing counterfully open.

clockwise turning of valve plug 34, will cause the lobe 55v to pass on toandthrottle ports 39 and 41, lobes 56 and 57 to pass rom over andl open by-pass ports 40 and 42,

' and lobe 58 to simplyvmo've away fromport 44 and the one not shown,` 'leavingthefsame A reverse movement ofthe handle ,36 from the position* shown will cause .lobe 58 topass'on to and throttle yports' 44 and the'corresponding port notv shown,

lobes 56 and 57 to pass from over and .open-1 the byp-pass yports 40"'and 42, and lobe' 55' simply to move away from ports 39 and 41,

leavingthe same fully open. Lobe 54 lis -simply a strengthening brace used for obvious mechanical reasons, and has no throttling function whatever. The khigh pressureV pipes of both circuits are both connected to either the upper'or the lower ports of their respectivel chambers V'of the steering valve 100, while .the lo-W pressure pipes are similarly connected to either Vthe lower or upper ports of their respective valve/chambers. u'

The motors 14-and 15 may be multiple cylinder hydraulic motors of any well' known type. or they may be ofV thespecialtype described in my application, Serial No. 399989 dated October 31, 1907, land may have any convenient number of cylinders,

and may be of any size necessary to produce the desired maximum speed with reference vtothe speed of the pump at full stroke, and

are geared to drive .wheels'2 and 3 respectively. With the motors so geared to the lco driving wheels 2 and 3 that given volumes ofV fluid delivered to said motors cause the said wheels'to revolve rat .equal speeds, any

@In order, better to allow the front4 or vdriving wheels to steer the vehicle by run'- ning at varying speeds,the rear wheel, or wheels,A should be- 'so constructed and vmounted as to swing readily and-follow the proper path with respect to the driving wheels. However, when an ordinary castery wheel is used the vehicle does not steer ac curately when the direction of motion is reversed, but wabbles ,1n` various directions untilthe caster wheel has swung to thel opposite side of yits vertical pivot. This wabblingis very objectionable, since it is apt to result yin `atemporary loss of control "of the machine and cause damage thereto.- I k-obviateanysuch chance of 'wabbling by providing a"f"caster-"or'swivel 47, Fig. 7, wth'a f Aforked'sluink,'the forks 60 of which 4carry Aparallel rodsl48 upon which slide bearings 49, carrying the axle 50 of the wheel 51, the latter being .thus .adapted to rotate and slide between the'forks of swivel-47.

When the machine is traveling in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 7 the axle 50 of the wheel with its bearings 49 slides back on the rods 48 to the position shown and the trailing wheel effect is producedl which allows the wheel to adjust itself readily to different angles of forward travel. However should the machine be reversed and travel rearwardly the axle 50 would slide with its bearings 49 to,the other vend of the rods 48, and thus immediately produce the trailing wheel effect in the opposite direction, since the resistance encountered b v the bearings 49 in sliding on the rods 48 is'not.

so great as .that of the whole wheel and swivel twisting against the grip of flange 52 on the road and the friction of the swivel bearing 53.

The operation of the machine is as follows -The pump control lever 13 being normally at the position for zero stroke of the pump when the engine 5 is started, no fluid is forced through the circuits and the vehicle is at rest. If it is desired to move straight forward the steering valve handle 36 is set at the neutral position shown, allowing both fluid circuits to operate independently, admittingthe same amount of fluid to each motor since said motors are here shown with the same number of cylinders of equal capacity and require equal amounts of fluid for equal '.speeds. The handle 11 is then sh'oved, say forward, in a positive direction, gradually increasing the stroke of the pump pistons,.and consequently the amount of fluid forced through .the two circuits, thereby driving both the motors at the same speed in a forward direction.. A reversal Yof the direction of travel of the vehicle is accomplished by simply pulling the handle 11 rearwardly through zero to a negativeposition, thus varying the Stroke of the common crank pin through zero to some value -on the negativeside of zero. This varying of the common crank lpin. stroke causes the fluid to beforced in-areverse direction through the fiuid circuits, consequently driving. the

motors at likespeeds rearwardly. Grasp-- ing the'. steering valve handle "36 with `the other hand, the operator may easily:.steer and, control Vthe-:speed ,simultaneously.l AA clockwise movementof handle 36 willeturn v valve plug 33, which is fastened thereto, in

a like-direction, and plug 34 counterclockwise, as above described, thereby throttling .ports 39 and .41 yand opening by-pass ports 40 and42 which -connectchambers 3l and `32. This action. of the'valvef cuts alcertain amount of fluid from the-cylinders 2-1', 23 andl 25 ofi".` fromY passing to motor 15and allows it to pass through yport 40 (assuming .sure side of the chamber 32, thence an amount equal to that by-passed in the upper chamber passes through by-pass port 42 to the lower part of chamber 31 and back into its original pump circuit. It will be seen that this operation causes more fiuid to pass through motor 14 than through motor 15, thereby causing said motor 1.4 to rotate faster than motor 15, and consequently the wheel 2 rotates faster than wheel 3 and produces a turning movement to the left. A movement of handle 36 in a counter clockwise direction producing precisely the opposite action of the valves 33 and 34, will allow more fluid to pass through motor 15 than through 14, thus driving said motor 15 faster than motor 14, consequently the wheel 3 travels faster than wheel 2 and produces a turning movement in a right hand direction.

When traveling rearwardly the action of the steering valve in controlling the relative speeds of the motors is precisely the same as above described with the exception that the 'man can without appreciable manual exertion accurately steer, and at the same time positively and perfectly control the speed of the motor vehicle.

It isreadily seen thatwhere desired the vehicle may be provided with four wheels instead of three, the two trailing wheels be# ing of theswivel type, preferably as'ahovev described. To illustrate this more clearly, 1 have shown in Figs. land 2, in dotted lines, the outlines of twox such trailing wheels.

However, where a four wheeled vehicle has' to pass over a rough vsurface itis best to providemeans for permitting the wheel supports to have sufiicient flexibility toallowl the wheels to: adapt themselves to the: road surface.4 yInwthe'vfourwvheel arrangement Y shown in Figs. '1"and2, this wfoiildjonlybenY possible if the frame; itself were'made suffi *if fere-with the'r'ali-nement` of the'driving nia-1f chinery;y 1 thereforeV find -it-advantageous to*v provide' `a practically. rigid frame connected.

rigidly to the`- front axle and Ito `connect -lthe: trailing-wheels' gto"l the 'rearV ofnthe trainee-4.2.39 i

l cooperating valves, and if desired, thecirthrough a horizontally pivoteddead axle,

and I have shown in Figs. 9, 10 and 11 such a construction. In this case the dead axle .90 is horizontally pivoted by the pin 91 to the hanger 92, fastened to `z-theframe 1.-' Rotatably secured to each end of the axle 90, is a swivel 47 carrying a trailing wheel 51, which is here shown as previously described and illustrated in Figs. -7 and 8. The dead axle 90 maybe braced against forces tending to twist it in a horizontal plane, due to striking obstables, etc.by the vertical guides 94.

` As previously explained, I have for convenience here shown the pump cylinders as grouped into only two sets, but it is obvious that by a mere change in the manifolds, the cylinders may be grouped into three sets of two cylinders each, or into fn, sets of m cylinders, thereby providing means for forcing fiuid through as many separate circuits asl desired, controlled by a suitable numberv of cuits may be fed by the same or different numbers of cylinders. It is also obvious that the cylinders may be all of the same size, or each may' be 4different fromany other. .I claim as my inventi 1. In a motor vehicle the combination of-a plurality of independently rotatable driving wheels, a yplurality of separate hydraulic motors, a separateA iuid` pressure generating element for each of said. motors, connections between `saidelements and said motors comprising a valve mechanism adapted to normally maintain alseparate connectionv between each motor and its generating `element andadjustable to establish communica.-

tion between the connections of-said sep-v neet the passages from said generating elements and partially close the passages to.

one of the motors.

3. I n a motor vehicle the combination with a plurality' 'of separate driving wheels of a separate hydraulic -m'otorfor each driving wheel, al separate fluid pressure generating element foi` each motor, passages for iconveying fluid under pressurevfromfsaid ele` ments tov said motors, andl a valve in said assages' adapted to maintain the passages tween each-"genera'ting element and its motor separate and adjustable to interconnect vthe passagesfrom said generating ele- Iments to the desired extent and partially close the passages to one ofthe motors a correspondingextent. 4 A

4. Ina motorvehicle'the combination of a plurality of separate driving-wheels, la

plurality of separate motors therefor, sep- 4 arate fluid pressure generating elements-for said motors, means for simultaneously varying'the capacity of said pressure generating elements, passages connecting said elements and motors in separate Huid circuits, and

means for interconnecting and disconnecting saidl circuits.

5.4 In a motor vehicle the combination of independentlyv rotatable driving Wheels -on the opposite sides thereof, a separate hy 4 draulic motor for each of said wheels, a

multiple cylinder pump for supplying iui'cl.

pressure to said motors, passages vconnectlng said motors with different cyllnders of said pump to form independent fluid circuits each having its pressure and suction sides, and a valve mechanism in said passages adapted to interconnect the `pressure sides of 'said separate circuits to. any desired extent, and simultaneously interconnect the suction sides of said circuits to a corresponding extent.

' 6., In a motor lvehicle vthe combination of ,independently rotatablev driving -Wheels onthe oppositel sidesthereof, a separate hydraulic motor for each. of said wheels, a

multiple cylinder pump for supplying iuid` f pressure to said motors, means `for simultaneously .varying the capacity of said cyl- 'p 10o inders, passages connecting said motorswith different cylinders of said pump to form in-f dependent Huid circuits each having its pressurevv and 'suction' z sides, and a 'valve mechanism in-saidpassages adaptedi'to interconnectthe pressure sidesof said separate circuits [to any desired extent and? simultaneously interconnect-the suction sidesA of said circuits to a corresponding extent.

-7. In a v' motorvehicle .the combination of l a plurality of independently rotatable driv-v ing wheels, a plurality of separate hydraulicI motors, a separate fluid pressuregenerating element` lfor each ofsaid motors, means for operating said separate generating elements 1n synchronlsm' to deliver the same quantity of fluid under vpressure-1in lthe samel unit 0ftnne, connectlons between said elements and' said motorscomprising avalve lmechanism adapted tonormally maintain a separate connection between each motor and its gen-l erating element and adjustabletoestabli'sh communication between the connections of said 'separate motors as desired. v

8. In a.. motor vehicle the combination vwlth a plurality. of separate driving wheels lofa separate hydraulic motor foreach driving wheel, a separate fluid pressure eneratmg element for each motor, means or operating saldseparate generating elementsin synchronism to deliver the same quantity generating elements and partially close the passages to one of the motors.

CHARLES M. MANLY.

Witnesses:

E. J. FEENEY, ADA I. MILLER. 

